A young lady, once a society belle and fond of worldly amusements,
consecrated her life to the Lord's work. In a rescue mission she was
asked to speak to a poor wreck of a man who had been a gambler. He
looked at her suspiciously as he asked, "Do you play cards, or dance, or
go to the theater?" "No, not now," she replied. "Well, then you may talk
to me; but I won't listen to one word from you fine folks who are doing
on a small scale the very things that brought us poor wretches to where
we are." And the young lady afterwards said she had found more real joy
in leading that lost soul to Christ than she had ever found in the
pleasures of the world.

_Lay aside every weight; lay aside every weight, just now._




STUDY XII.

PRAYER.

Memory Verse: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much."--(James v, 16.)

Scripture for Meditation: Gen. xxxii, 24-30; Luke xi, 1-13.


Nothing is more essential to the soul-winner than prayer. Prayer will
generate a spiritual atmosphere in the individual life. The prayers of
many will generate a spiritual atmosphere in a community. In answer to